Panel Descriptions

Panel 1: Covid-19, (Im)mobility and Responsive Policies for Labour Migration

Convenor: Emeritus Professor Dr. Supang Chantavanich, expert adviser, ARCM

 

Usually community resilience has to do with relocation. But Covid 19 lockdown and national border closing become obstacles to their coping strategies. Migrant workers in foreign destinations are forced either to rush back home or stay with uncertainty in countries of destination. In Southeast Asia, migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar were working in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Their pre-existing inequalities are exacerbated by the pandemic and they are left at the intersection of vulnerabilities. To fight against such injustice, state (both destination and origin), employers and CSO networks can play vital roles in protecting workers during such crisis. This panel examines the impacts of the pandemic on migrant workers and discusses possible responsive policies for labour migration.

 

Panel 2: The Status of Children During and Post-Pandemic

Convenor: Dr. Premjai Vungsiriphal, Deputy Director, ARCM

 

The Covid 19 pandemic affects all people around the world, including children both locally and migrant children. Children are generally vulnerable because of their age, less ability to self-protect and are dependent on adults in one way or another. Such vulnerabilities can be more severe when they intersect with ethnicity, legal or migrant status.  During the pandemic, some children’s parents or care-giver may have lost their jobs or earn less income, lack health protection, and have limited access to education. This panel will present the situation of children and various impacts that have ensued as a result of the pandemic.

 

Panel 3: Migrants’ Experiences and Situation Updates from the Origin Countries

Convenor: Dr. Pyone Myat Thu, Researcher, ARCM

 

In March 2020, tens of thousands of migrant workers rushed to return to their origin countries ahead of Thailand shutting its national borders, due to fear of the spread of Covid-19, reduced or (fear of) loss of income and employment, lack of social protection, in addition to visa and work permit related concerns. During the same period, overseas Thai migrant workers flooded back home from other destination countries. This panel shifts the focus onto migrants’ precarious experiences with the outbreak of Covid-19 and also provides an update of current local situations and responses in the origin countries.

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Panel 4: Lessons from the Pandemic: The Future of Work and Sustainable Development

Convenor: Associate Professor Dr. Naruemon Thabchumpon, Director, ARCM

 

The Asian Development Bank estimates global unemployment could affect between 158 million and 242 million people due to the economic disruptions of Covid-19, with 70% of job losses in Asia and the Pacific. Within this global climate of economic recession, the World Bank projects Thailand’s economy to shrink by 5% in 2020 and take more than two years to return to pre-COVID-19 GDP output levels. Consequently, both Thai and migrant workers’ employment, livelihoods and well-being will continue to be affected into the foreseeable future. This panel will examine current and future issues related to labour and workforce, paying close attention to rights at work, gender, skills development and progress made towards achieving the SDGs. 

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Panel 5: Post Covid-19, Resilience and Safe Cities

Convenor: Dr Ratchada Jayagupta, Researcher, ARCM

 

The Global Cities Free of Slavery Project is the global collaboration between Rights Labs - University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, BRIC Policy Center - The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, and the Asian Research Center for Migration at the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The project aims to promote visibility to actors from public, private and CSO sectors involved in the eradication of slavery, and social groups vulnerable to modern slavery in the cities, aiming to strength resilience considering the diversity of aspects that interfere in the vulnerability to modern slavery in each city. The project oriented its debates to the effects of the pandemic on patterns of modern slavery, considering the impact of the emergency State policies on the labour market. Later, the topic of "GLOBAL CITIES FREE OF SLAVERY PARTNERS FORUM: A Covid-19 IMPACT ANALYSIS" was discussed on the impact of Covid-19 among partner universities.

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